What are the best HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) equipment stores in North America?

Medieval knights Prepare for battle as style Game of Thrones in

Regardless of whether you are a historical European martial artist, SCA Armored fighter or seeking armored protection for blossfechten or even jousting, there are many vendors and stores available who sell and produce products for historical combat re-enactment and Historical European martial arts.

This list is of companies based in the United States of America and Canada, and who will ship internationally between. Some of these companies will also ship to South American countries as well.

For a list of distributors based in Europe please click here.

Federschwert.com

A relatively new company based in the USA that is primarily selling equipment for beginners in HEMA and HMB (Burhurt). Primarily sells equipment produced by Red Dragon Armory, Cas Hanwei, Get Dressed for Battle and Absolute Fencing at affordable prices.

Visit www.federschwert.com to browse their inventory.

Castille Armory

An Oregon US based company known for producing high-end training weapons for SCA and Historical martial arts combat. Their Economy Line model training weapons are popular. Their website has a form to make custom orders for rapier, long swords, cutlasses, sabres, messers, backswords and even SCA katana a fairly straight forward process.

Visit www.castillearmory.com to browse their inventory.

Kult of Athena

An Elgin, Illinois USA based distributor of medieval and Renaissance period weapons, clothing and other goods. They are a distributor for Albion swords and many other popular custom blade makers, and also have a section of the site that specializes in pre-owned sword sales. They recently started carrying HEMA equipment produced by companies such as Kingston Arms, Fabri Armorum, Red Dragon and Darksword Armory.

Visit kultofathena.com to browse their swords and other medieval weapons.

SPES USA

The US distribution branch of SPES Historical Fencing Gear, one of the oldest producers of protective equipment specifically for historical European martial artists training with heavier fencing weapons such as long swords and sabres. Their equipment has become standard among the community of HEMA fencers.

Visit  www.histfenc.us to order from this branch.

Purpleheart Armory

A Texas US based company. They are known for their synthetic longsword simulators but also carry steel swords and federschwert (feders). They also distribute SPES protective equipment such as fencing jackets and pants, as well as other accessories. They also produce custom trophies and a wide variety of other products.

Visit www.woodenswords.com to see their HEMA products.

HEMA Gear Canada

A Newfoundland, Canada based distributor of HEMA equipment and weapon trainers started by Phil Swift in 2020.

Visit https://hemagearcanada.com to browse their catalog.

South Coast Swords

South Coast Swords is a school based in Santa Ana, California USA but they are also known for their online pro shop. They are the distributor for Black Fencer synthetic swords and Superior Fencing protective gear.

Visit www.southcoastswords.com to see their catalog.

Darkwoods Armory

A Missouri US based company. Darkwoods is known for producing high end and custom rapiers, side-swords, arming (knightly) swords and long sword blunt training weapon simulators for usage in both SCA Armored and HEMA. They are a popular vendor for North American practitioners of Armizare as they produce specialty training weapons such as their Italian scrimiators that in their current iteration handles similarly to a sword blunt but sports the flexibility of a federschwert (feder). They also favor the Italian style of swept-hilted rapiers. Some of these items, such as the scrimiator model of long sword, are not usually advertised on the website and may require a special order.

Visit www.darkwoodarmory.com to view their current products

Arms & Armor

A Minneapolis, Minnesota USA based company that produces historically accurate reproductions of weapons and armor, some of which are catered to Western martial artists.

Visit www.arms-n-armor.com to browse.

Leon Paul USA

Established in 1921 Leon Paul is one of the oldest companies producing specialty fencing gear, primarily for the contemporary (Olympic) sport fencing market but over the past few years they have produced some interesting equipment specifically aimed at the Historical European long sword market. Their models of steel meshed helmets have gone through several iterations, with many previous versions now discontinued as they refine designs and production methods.

Visit www.leonpaulusa.com to see what they have available. We’ve directly linked to their HEMA & Re-enactment section.

HEMA Supplies

This USA based company is the exclusive North American distributor of Regenyei Armoury federschwert (feders) and swords, as well as Black Armory protective equipment and products. They also distribute products for other UK based manufacturers such as Chlebowski, Krieger and Sparring Gloves.

Visit www.hemasupplies.com to see what is in store.

S.G.T. Blades

Based out of Alberta, Canada and started by blacksmith Garth Thompson this is a manufacturer of high end federschwert and blunted training weapons, as well as swords, axes and other blades.

Visit sgtblades.com to place your own order.

Black Horse Blades

Based in Wisconsin, USA this forgery specializes in custom manufacturing of HEMA training weapons of all kinds.

Visit blackhorseblades.com to buy and place an order.

Darksword Armory

Produces of mid-tier quality museum replicas and some fantasy inspired weaponry.

Visit https://www.darksword-armory.com/ to view their wares.

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There are other companies not on this list who are smaller but if you feel they should be included you can comment on this article and recommend why we should add them to the list.

If you’d like to learn more information about historical fencing practices please check out our Learn HEMA page for a guide to learning about the historical weapon that interests you. You can also find more guides we’ve written about other topics at our Helpful Guides page. You can also join the conversation at our forums or our Facebook Group community.

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4 Responses

  1. I would highly recommend adding Zen Warrior Armory to the list. They focus on the rapier / small sword end of things but the equipment is fantastic and well priced. They are very easy to work with as well. Our club uses them almost exclusively for jackets, mask, gloves, and of course weapons.

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